Testing of substances such as fragrances, aromas, flavors, etc. is commonly done and is very important to many businesses. For example, manufacturers and marketers of a vast range of products that use fragrances, such as perfumes, drugs, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, health and beauty aids, household products, cleaners, soaps, detergents, laundry products, etc. are very concerned with fragrance testing. Fragrances are an important product feature and a major factor in consumer perception of product quality, efficacy and overall satisfaction. In addition to deriving an initial product fragrance, product fragrances often need to be changed every few years. The optimum choice of a fragrance can give a manufacturer of a product an important competitive advantage in the market place.
In order to derive a suitable fragrance for the product, it is often necessary to test a number of alternative product fragrances. Fragrance testing requires the effective testing of a number of fragrances under tightly controlled scientific conditions. Typically, this is done in very expensive and time-consuming laboratory facilities that are located in a company's own product research center, since fragrance testing away from the company's own facilities ordinarily lack suitable control. Once any fragrance is exposed for testing, it readily contaminates the overall area, making it impractical to obtain unbiased responses to any other fragrances that might be tested at the same location.
The present invention provides a novel container and a substance testing method which solves these and other problems associated with testing substances including liquids, vapors and solids including but not limited to fragrances, aromas, flavors, etc.